Welcome to Cambridge Scholars Publishing’s Marketing and Sales Guide
The information given below should provide you with all the tools you should need to successfully market your work, and details what you can expect from CSP post publication.
We aimed for this information to be as comprehensive as possible, but if you would like any further clarity please contact our marketing team at: marketing@cambridgescholars.com, who will be happy to assist you however possible.
The most effective marketing arises from a combination of effort from all parties. As such, we highly recommend you involve yourself in marketing as much as possible. As the author/editor of your work, you’re best placed to engage with other academics in the field and to discuss the work in detail.
Marketing and Sales Team
Cambridge Scholars Publishing has a dedicated sales and marketing team. They ensure that appropriate metadata is released for your title and they have fantastic working relationships with important aggregators and sales agents.
Our team are proud of their collaborative approach to marketing and will work alongside you to ensure that your book reaches its desired market. Their priority is ensuring the accurate and timely release of information, and supporting you in any of your marketing endeavours.
Their role is to ensure the following:
- That the work is included in catalogues shared with libraries, library suppliers, sales agents and bookstores
- That sales representatives and agents regularly receive accurate and thorough data for titles
- That a full catalogue of CSP titles is available on our website
- That digital previews are available on our website and Google Play
Key Contacts
For marketing: marketing@cambridgescholars.com
For sales: orders@cambridgescholars.com
What can you do to help sell your book?
As an author, or editor, you play a vital role in marketing your book. The best results come from those who are actively involved in the marketing of their own book. Below are some things you can do to market your work.
Media interest peaks around the date of publication; thus, we highly recommend that you begin your marketing as soon as you receive your first proofs – this is when the ISBN has been assigned, you have been given a date of publication and the book should be live on our website.
Consider sharing mixed media on your work – people love behind-the-scenes looks at the book publication process. This could include a draft of your cover, notes about your proofs or pictures of the editing process. Talk with your friends, family and colleagues and share the news, and contact scholars and peers that might be willing to host you for a talk tied to the subject of the book. Propose talks or panels at appropriate conferences that are related to your book.
Add information about the upcoming book to your email signature, including its title, a thumbnail of the cover and a link to the book on our website. List your publication on institution or faculty webpages.
Make sure you inform your institution and/or your university – both undergraduate and postgraduate – as they may be able to include notes in alumni magazines or on their website; they may even purchase a copy!
In addition, consider the below options:
Social media
Follow appropriate key people in the field (both scholars and writers), and contribute to relevant discussions. Share reviews. Use Facebook to share information on your book with friends and family or to create events to talk about your book; you can invite people to RSVP – they may not all attend, but this makes it more likely that they will.
Think about holidays applicable to your work and share information on these days and tag the holiday – for example, #WorldBookDay, #NationalBookMonth, etc.
Post pictures of the publication process, updates of your work and any pictures of your books in stores or libraries – make sure you tag the store and/or library as well as CSP.
Wikipedia
Is your book specific enough that you could use its materials to update relevant pages on Wikipedia and reference the book? Do you have your own Wikipedia page? If so, add the work to your page.
Goodreads
Because Goodreads is the self-proclaimed “world’s largest site for readers and book recommendations”, we recommend making your own author page and uploading information about your book(s) – it’s a great way to develop a book community and encourage reviews.
Google Scholar:
Creating a profile on Google Scholar is a simple way to showcase your publications, you can create a profile here: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en. If you choose to make your profile public, then you may appear in Google Scholar results when people search for your name. Once you have created your profile, you can then add your publications including those with CSP – this makes your work more accessible and provides an easy way to see who is citing your work.
Videos
Videos are a great way of introducing yourself and your book from your home environment – think about creating a short video introducing your book or talking on its topic to increase interest in your work. Make sure you tag CSP!
Blogs or Websites
If you contribute to a blog, or have one of your own, then write a piece on the subject of your work and link your new book. Are there any online communities who discuss your subject field? Consider reaching out and enquiring if they’d be interested in a Guest Post. CSP can consider special discount codes for the readers of these sites.
Also, CSP has its own Book In Focus page, to which you can submit an article about your book – please see our website https://www.cambridgescholars.com/pages/book-in-focus for examples. If you are interested in submitting to this page, please contact our marketing team at marketing@cambridgescholars.com
Societies and Associations
Are you a member of a society or association? If so, and they are relevant to your title, then talk to them about your work – you can enquire if they can share news on applicable websites, in newsletters and at any events. We can offer discounts to these groups should they be interested.
Conferences and events
There are a wide range of conferences every year for a variety of topics; if you do intend to attend one relevant to your title, please let us know and we can arrange relevant marketing materials. Please note that we require a minimum of 2 weeks’ notice for electronic materials and longer for physical materials.
Posters and Flyers
Are you attending an event? We can provide flyers and posters for your book which you can share with interested parties – they also include a discount for when they purchase from us directly! If you have a physical office, consider a poster for the door, which can contain a QR code for the book should people be interested in buying.
Libraries
Recommend the book to your library. With the current economic climate, libraries are relying more and more on the recommendations of their teaching staff, so please talk to your librarians and encourage your colleagues and friends to recommend your book too.
Forward information about the book to family, friends, colleagues, your libraries and any other important figures – we’re happy to offer discounts to these individuals when purchasing from us directly.
Talking Events
Are there events in your field of academia which are relevant to your title? Consider approaching these events with a talk about your book and what it studies – this is a great opportunity for you to market the book and network with members of the field.
Academic Affiliations
Write to institutions you’ve been affiliated with – such as the university at which you completed your undergraduate and postgraduate education, or your current workplace – and inform them of the work’s release. They may include your work in their library or in relevant newsletters.
Reviews
Due to the high-level, academic nature of our publications, we target review copies to a small selection of people who would be best suited to provide feedback and whose feedback will have the highest academic impact. The team will work alongside you to ensure those you recommend receive copies. All review copies are sent electronically via a third-party access site. Please note that we do not send physical copies.
Desk Copies
We supply desk copies to academics and institutions who are considering using your work in their teaching. The majority of these copies are organised by our marketing and sales team, but if you want to get involved, encourage your contacts to consider your work in their teaching.
Please note that we can only supply desk copies to individuals affiliated with a teaching institution.
Book Launches
We do not organise nor fund launch events, as they are rarely the most effective way to promote the book. If, however, you’d like to hold a launch within your department to celebrate publication, we would be more than happy to supply you with marketing materials and advertise this on our social media channels.
FAQs
Where can people buy my book?
We’ll make the work available to all the key book sellers and aggregators – such as EBSCO, ProQuest, GooglePlay and Amazon – and, from there, individuals can buy the work from a number of third-party sellers. They can also buy the work from us directly.
What is metadata?
Metadata is data which describes and gives information about other data – such as books. Book metadata includes essential information about your book, such as its title, author information, date of publication and ISBN, alongside its blurb and BIC codes. This information enhances your book’s discoverability, which in turn helps to ensure that your book reaches the attention of its chosen audience. We release metadata regularly to constantly ensure that this is up-to-date.
eBooks
All of CSP’s titles are available as eBooks and this will be available through aggregators such as Kortext, EBSCO and ProQuest.
Please note CSP does not sell eBooks directly.
We’re pleased to announce that Cambridge Scholars Publishing is now a member of the UK government’s Disability Confident scheme. This initiative has been set-up to allow businesses and organisations to work together in the shared aim of increasing access and employment opportunities for those living with a disability by sharing their experiences and best practices.
Click here to read more.
